National News - The Morning Sun

Kalee Hume stands alongside her handmade eclipse-themed soaps at her shop in downtown Waxahachie, Texas, on Saturday, April 6, 2024. Waxahachie will be in the path of totality for Monday's eclipse of the sun. (AP Photo/Marcia Dunn)

Small town businesses embrace total solar eclipse crowd, come rain or shine on Monday

Small town businesses are embracing the eclipse crowds, as weekend festivities heat up before Monday's big event. Overcast skies are forecast for Monday's cosmic wonder across Texas, already packing … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 4/6/24

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks at the Washoe Democratic Party Office in Reno, Nev., March 19, 2024. Biden's reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee said Saturday, April 6, that they raised more than $90 million in March and ended the year's first quarter with $192-plus million in cash on-hand, further stretching an already sizeable money advantage over his opponent, former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Biden and Democrats report raising $90 million-plus in March, stretching their cash lead over Trump

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee report raising more than $90 million in March and ending the year’s first quarter with $192 million-plus in cash on … more

By WILL WEISSERT | 4/6/24

Man convicted in decadeslong identity theft that led to his victim being jailed

William Woods was homeless and living in Los Angeles when he learned that someone was racking up debt using his name. But when he reported his concerns to a branch manager of a bank, he wound up … more

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH | 4/5/24

FILE - Community members look at a memorial outside Schemengees Bar & Grille, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, Lewiston, Maine. Months after a deadly mass shooting in Maine, backers and detractors held an hourslong debate over a so-called red flag bill. The measure discussed on Friday, April 5, 2024, would let family members petition a judge to remove guns from someone experiencing a psychiatric crisis. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

'Red flag' bill debated for hours in Maine months after mass shooting that killed 18

Months after Maine’s deadliest mass shooting, state lawmakers held an hourslong hearing to debate a so-called red flag bill that would let family members petition a judge to remove guns from … more

By STEVE LeBLANC | 4/5/24

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine sports a pair of eclipse glasses while talking to reporters at the Ohio Emergency Operations Center in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, April 5, 2024. DeWine activated the center on Friday to assist communities before, during and after Monday's total solar eclipse, which could draw hundreds of thousands of tourists to the state. (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth)

Emergency operations plan ensures 'a great day' for Monday's eclipse, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says

Ohio is pulling out all the stops for Monday’s total solar eclipse, as it braces for potentially hundreds of thousands of visitors. At a Friday news conference, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said it … more

By JULIE CARR SMYTH | 4/5/24

FILE - A flare burns at a well pad Aug. 26, 2021, near Watford City, N.D. The levels of the crucial heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere reached historic highs in 2023, growing at near-record fast paces, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Heat-trapping carbon dioxide and methane levels in the air last year spiked to record highs again

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the levels of the crucial heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere reached historic highs last year, growing at near-record fast paces. Friday's … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 4/5/24

Debris surrounds a titled building a day after a powerful earthquake struck, in Hualien City, eastern Taiwan, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

AP Week in Pictures: Asia

March 29 - April 4, 2024 Rescuers searched for missing people and worked to reach hundreds stranded following Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years. A crowd of people, some weeping, … more

By The Associated Press | 4/5/24

This image provided by the Great Plains Zoo shows Chioke in an enclosure at the zoo in Sioux Falls, S.D., in March 2024. The beloved 18-year-old reticulated giraffe died, March 28, 2024, the zoo announced Thursday, April 4, 2024. Chioke, born in Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla., came to the zoo in 2007. He grew to nearly 15 feet tall and sired three offspring, who went on to other zoos. (Great Plains Zoo via AP)

Beloved giraffe of South Dakota zoo euthanized after foot injury

A beloved giraffe at a zoo in South Dakota has died. On Thursday, the Great Plains Zoo and Butterfly House & Aquarium in Sioux Falls announced the death of Chioke. He was an 18-year-old reticulated … more

4/4/24

FILE - Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton speaks on Jan. 11, 2006, at a press conference in Columbus, Ohio. Gumbleton, a Catholic bishop in Detroit who for decades was an international voice against war and racism and an advocate for labor and social justice, died Thursday, April 4, 2024,. He was 94. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)

Thomas Gumbleton, Detroit Catholic bishop who opposed war and promoted social justice, dies at 94

Thomas Gumbleton, a Catholic bishop in Detroit, has died. For decades, he was an international voice against war and racism and an advocate for labor and social justice. Gumbleton was 94. He became a … more

By ED WHITE | 4/4/24

People attend a meeting by French far right politician Marion Marechal, executive vice president of the Reconquete party, in Charvieu-Chavagneux, outside Lyon, France, April 3, 2024. Marechal is the granddaughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of National Front, renamed National Rally. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

AP Week in Pictures: Global

March 29 - April 4, 2024 Israeli airstrikes that killed seven aid workers in Gaza reverberated around the world, as friends and relatives mourned the losses of those who were delivering food to … more

By The Associated Press | 4/4/24

Worshipers listen to a sermon by Mark Batterson, lead pastor of National Community Church, during a sunrise Easter service at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

AP Week in Pictures: North America

March 29 - April 4, 2024 Worshippers celebrate Easter across the country, Senegalese Muslim migrants pray at a mosque in New York, and dancers perform during auditions for the Radio City … more

By The Associated Press | 4/4/24

Rebecca Milner, a plaintiff in the Nicole Blackmon vs. the State of Tennessee, wipes away tears as she listens to arguments presented by her attorney in court Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. The case challenges the medical necessity exception to Tennessee's total abortion ban. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee court to weigh throwing out abortion ban challenge, blocking portions of the law

Attorneys defending Tennessee’s sweeping abortion ban have alleged that doctors challenging the law do not want any oversight when deciding to terminate a pregnancy and instead are improperly … more

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI | 4/4/24

FILE - President Donald Trump, left, talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a ceremony, May 23, 2017, in Jerusalem. Former President Donald Trump offered a tough message to Israel over its war against Hamas on Thursday, April 4, 2024, urging the country to "Get it over with." In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump said that Israel is "absolutely losing the PR war," and called for a swift resolution to the bloodshed. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Trump says Israel has to get Gaza war over 'fast,' warns it is 'losing the PR war'

Former President Donald Trump offered a tough message to Israel over its war against Hamas on Thursday, urging the country to: “Get it over with.” In an interview with conservative radio host … more

By JILL COLVIN | 4/4/24

FILE - A No Labels banner at the National Press Club, in Washington, Jan. 18, 2024. The No Labels group says it won't field a presidential candidate in November after strategists for the bipartisan organization were unable to attract a candidate willing to seize on the widespread dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden and Donald Trump. No Labels CEO Nancy Jacobson said in a statement Thursday that "the responsible course of action is for us to stand down." ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

No Labels won’t run a third-party campaign after trying to recruit a centrist presidential candidate

The No Labels group says it won't field a presidential candidate in November after strategists for the bipartisan organization failed to attract a high-profile centrist willing to seize on the … more

By STEVE PEOPLES and JONATHAN J. COOPER | 4/4/24

Armored trucks are parked outside the offices of GardaWorld in the Sylmar section of Los Angeles on Thursday, April 4, 2024. Thieves stole as much $30 million in an Easter Sunday burglary at a Los Angeles money storage facility in one of the largest cash heists in city history. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

This Los Angeles heist sounds like it came from a thriller novel. Thieves stole $30 million in cash

Thieves got away with $30 million in cash from a money storage facility in Los Angeles by breaking into the building on Easter Sunday and cracking the safe. Now detectives are seeking to unravel the … more

4/4/24

FILE - A Powerball lottery ticket is seen inside a convenience store, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Kennesaw, Ga. Powerball will match a record for lottery losing Saturday night, April 6, with a stretch of more than three months without a jackpot winner. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, FIle)

Powerball jackpot reaches $1.23B as long odds mean lots of losing, just as designed

Powerball is about to match a record for lottery drawings with a stretch of more than three months without a jackpot winner. It’s that string of futility that has enabled Powerball’s top prize to … more

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE | 4/4/24

An alcoholic beverage bottle sits on the sand in Brick N.J. on Thursday, April 4, 2024, the day that the Clean Ocean Action Environmental Group released a report showing that volunteers picked up and disposed of 176,206 items of trash along New Jersey's 127-mile coastline last year. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Voodoo doll, whoopie cushion, denture powder among bizarre trash plucked from New Jersey beaches

Pretty soon it will be beach season again at the Jersey Shore. If last year was any indication, it'll be time to pack the voodoo dolls, whoopie cushions, zip ties and denture powder. Those were just … more

BY WAYNE PARRY | 4/4/24

Judge Scott McAfee addresses the lawyers during a hearing on charges against former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election interference case on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in Atlanta. Lawyers for Trump argued in a court filing that the charges against him in the Georgia election interference case seek to criminalize political speech and advocacy conduct that is protected by the First Amendment. (Dennis Byron/Hip Hop Enquirer via AP)

Judge rejects Trump's First Amendment challenge to indictment in Georgia election case

The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others has rejected arguments by the former president that the indictment was seeking to criminalize political … more

By KATE BRUMBACK | 4/4/24

A sign announcing that a home is under contract is displayed in Wilmette, Ill., Thursday, March 28, 2024. On Thursday, April 4, 2024, Freddie Mac reports on this week’s average U.S. mortgage rates. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Average long-term US mortgage rate rises modestly this week, holding just below 7%

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose modestly this week, holding below 7% as it has for much of this year. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 6.82% from 6.79% last week, mortgage … more

By ALEX VEIGA | 4/4/24

Free blue checks are back for some accounts on Elon Musk's X. Not everyone is happy about it

Elon Musk’s X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has started restoring complimentary blue checks to some of its users. That’s caused confusion online. Last year, X began removing the … more

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS | 4/4/24